Congratulations to our new skippers

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Today was the last day of our spring sailing class. Fortunately the weather was fantastic: sunny, not too hot, nice breeze. Unfortunately, a few of our best cadets missed the class.

The cadets rigged up with no help from the coaches. We had only one boat sailing with a coach on board and he spent most of the time relaxing.





After a sailing around a little to "warm up," we started our familiar drill: Baby Ducks (link). This is a great exercise for beginners and advanced sailors; it gives the students practice and the coach can see what mistakes (if any) the students are making.



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Then, we began some serious practice: STOPPING (link). Obviously, it's important to be able to stop! Sailboats do not have brakes but we can make the stop fairly easily. What is difficult is to make the stop at a given spot, under control, so that we can maneuver to a dock or another boat. And it is always desirable to stop the boat in such a way that we can easily get going again.


Here, a beginner skipper has made a nearly perfect approach (on a Close Reach point of sail) and let the sails "luff" or flap, to lose power and slow down. These Oday Javelins are relatively heavy boats and will coast a long way with the sails totally luffing.





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Sailing on a Run (point of sail) or directly down wind. The sails are eased out and in this photo are also set "Wing & Wing."

Advanced Sailing Tip- adjusting the boom vang. If you look at the mainsail leach of the two boats, the one on the right has bit more curve. Also, the boat on the right's boom is angled up a bit more. Their boom vang is not as tight. When the water is choppy and wind is gusty, a tighter boom vang will make the boat easier to steer down wind (on a Broad Reach or a Run).






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Another beginner sailor making a successful stop. This is one of the key skills!













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This photo captures the fun of our sailing class!

We have had about a dozen class sessions, only 6 or 7 sailing sessions. Yet, we have learned the parts of the boat and terminology, the points of sail, how to steer with a tiller, tacking, how to stop, and (very important) the Right-Of-Way rules.

We also have a number of sailors who have already passed Basic Sailing and are either joining in the sailing sessions occasionally for fun (a privilege granted to the best sailors) or continuing an Advanced Class in which they study physics, communications, weather, and navigation... and practice their skills at a higher level.

One of the greatest things about sailing: there is always more to learn, always another challenge.

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Passing the Basic Sailing Course means the beginners will be awarded the Sea Cruise Ribbon and they may begin getting signed off on the "Blue Books."







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Congratulations to our sailors of Spring 2017


(as we mentioned, several of our sailors were unfortunately absent today)






... posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King 




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Almost done... new sailors

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We're almost at the end of the class. The cadets have made very good progress, although we have had difficult weather this spring. Several times we have cancelled sailing altogether, which reduces the time we can spend sailing.

We've learned the major parts of the boat and how to rig it properly.  This involves learning a lot of new words, too!







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These cadets are sailing a Beam Reach, with Coach John Jackson offering advice... at this point, they don't need much.

To pass Basic Sailing, the cadets need to learn terminology, rigging, how to steer & how to handle the sails, basic maneuvers, and Right-Of-Way rules. This gives them the skills to handle the boats from the dock to any nearby destination, and back again safely.





Cadets who pass Basic Sailing receive the Sea Cruise ribbon for their uniforms, and academic credit. This is the equivalent of a college-level course. Once they are qualified 'basic sailors' they can continue to sail either for fun or to learn more ... like navigation, weather, communications, along with advanced sailing skills... and many of our sailing cadets have gone on to race or charter sailboats on their own.




The main purpose of the class, however, is to teach teamwork and leadership- none of this can happen just on it's own!


Here's two of our advanced sailors, handling the boat quite well. Although this picture looks idyllic, it was actually quite a rough day. They just make it look easy!





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Moments after the above photo, along comes a gust... wind strength jumped from the neighborhood of 12mph to around 20mph.

This time, everything is fine & under control. A bit later, the boat heeled over enough to have water pouring in over the side. Then it was time to start bailing the water out!





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Here's one of our new sailors, doing a great job. In this photo, we have just finished a 'Baby Duck' drill which included every Point Of Sail, Tacking, and Stopping.

This afternoon, most of the new sailors went from being able but hesitant and needing a reminder now and then, to handling the boats decisively and confidently. Big improvement, great afternoon of sailing!



... posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King

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